Hello hello!

This chapter doesn't have much going on. I initially planned the first half to have a flashback, but decided it was better to have it in another chapter altogether. I haven't been feeling well, so that was the reason why this took a while (Cheese and bread were never my friend)

Song of the Day: Burna Boy - Alone (also the reason why this chapter is called Alone)

Please leave a like, follow, or leave a comment as it helps to motivate me in the writing process. The end of this chapter is a little mix of the movie and the book.

The sun light woke her up the next morning. She was in the hospital wing, the shot of sleeping draught next to her empty from when she had to drink it last night. Remus slept soundly in the chair next to her, a light snore emitting from him.

Gosh, did he stay here all night?

"Ah, there you are," Poppy walked over. She looked rather weary. "How are you feeling?"

"Uhm…" it took her a moment to remember why she was there in the first place. Then, it came back to her.

Sirius. He had been here.

"They're strengthening the guards around the castle – even more!" Poppy exclaimed. "It's not enough I have students coming in sick from the dementors and yet he keeps getting away!"

Poppy looked her over, making sure there was no sign of magical tempering.

"No curse, no hex. Nothing broken, just shock," she puffed. "You gave Remus quite the fright. He said you went catatonic. Did you really see Black?"

Eliza flinched. "I did."

And spoke to him.

"And did he do anything? Saying anything?"

"No," her voice was hoarse. "Has Remus been staying here all night?"

"All morning. I kicked him out last night. He joined the teachers to look for Black and he came in as soon as he could."

Poppy told her it was best to go back to sleep naturally after taking the sleeping draught. Knowing this, Eliza closed her eyes. When she woke up, Remus was sipping on some tea.

"Good afternoon," he tried to sound amused. "Fine Sunday?

She got up and leaned against the bed frame. "Did you find anything?"

"No, he got away," he looked troubled. "I think…"

Eliza grabbed her wand and performed the mufliato charm just in case someone was listening.

"Is that one of Snape's spells?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, he invented it back in fifth year."

"It sounds like a good spell until it's used in an empty classroom," he noted. "That's why I knew you were in the classroom. My hearing went all fuzzy." He pointed around his ears to imitate the fuzzy sound.

He was treading carefully, as he always did when he wanted to figure something out.

"You saw him."

"Yes."

"Did he …say anything?"

Eliza thought for a moment. It sounded too much like her theory that Remus was against. "You'll think I'm a nutter that was confounded."

"Try me," he crossed his arms.

"He says he's innocent," Eliza grimaced. She should have just repeated what Sirius had told her. It confirmed her suspicions, but for some reason she couldn't believe the part with the rat. From what Hagrid told her, that rat was supposed to be missing or dead.

"Oh and who supposedly killed Lily and James?" Remus had a guarded look on his face.

"Peter."

Remus blinked.

"No," he shook his head. "Just… no."

"I don't know what to think either," she pulled her blanket up to her chin.

"There is no evidence to support it but his word, and that's not enough," Remus' voice cracked to the end. "Who is to say he isn't just saying that to get to you?"

It didn't seem like it. It would give her too much of a headache to think about it. His words were so jumbled and he had explained things, all except for one.

"He was still the secret keeper," Eliza muttered.

"Precisely," Remus squeezed her hand. "And that is the biggest reason why we can't trust what he says…well, not unless…"

Remus didn't share that thought with her. Something flashed in his eye, as though the thought was so absurd that it made no sense to him. Instead, he stood up.

"I'll talk to Poppy and we'll go for a nice walk by the lake, how about that?"

Poppy was in fact reluctant to release her, but after promising that she would take it easy they were allowed to go. They did not speak of the matter at hand again.

She hooked her arm through his, making sure that if there was a slippery spot, Remus wouldn't fall down. Not that it mattered, as Eliza didn't have the strength to do so if he did. She still felt a weight on her heart from last night, a deep conscious weighed on her mind.

When they were at the lake, Eliza noticed a dark cloud of green hair poking out and waving. It was one of the selkies from the merpeople colony. The selkie approached the shore, a glint of interest on her face.

Friend okay? The selkie signed. They could not speak above water. Big dark cloak scaring merpeople.

Friend sad, Eliza signed a heart that was broken to indicate it was romantic love. But friend is sharing sadness with Moony. She turned her hand into a half circle and waved it in front of her face.

Is Lily around? The selkie asked. The name for Lily was the letter l followed by index and thumb being pinched together for flower. The selkie signed something and then left, which troubled Eliza slightly

"Would you like to teach the class about mermaids?" Remus said. "Not that I can't do it, but I think they'd like it if they know that mermaids aren't dangerous. It might also teach the Slytherin students to be aware of their surroundings."

"It's not a care of magical creatures thing?"

"Depends, I'm not quite sure if Hagrid is up for it after Buckbeak. Poor fellow has the trials this friday."

She couldn't give Sirius a moment a thought the next few days because as soon as she stepped into the classroom, she had stressed students coming up to her about their OWLS and NEWTS. Every once in a while she will look out to the forbidden forest, which is where, according to the selkie, Sirius was hiding.

He had asked the selkie to send her a message.

His signing is terrible, the selkie said. But he tried. He said: the cave in the forest. bring food if can.

But as much as she wanted, she couldn't. Because any hour she wasn't teaching, she was under surveillance by other teachers and, mostly, Severus.

It made her grumble under her breathe.

Sybil Trewalny made an exit from her tower every once in a while and whenever she did, she smelt of cooking sherry and would look at Eliza as though she was about to die a gruesome death in a few minutes.

"You know, I love a good astrology chart in my newspapers," Eliza had finished the crossword puzzle on the daily prophet. "We don't seem to have those."

"Those are a scam," Sybil stabbed at her meat. "You need expertise to understand astrology."

"I don't know. Maybe I just like knowing that today will be a good day for me."

"Never too late to learn."

"Where do you find yourself going?" Severus didn't look up from his issue of the Daily Prophet. Eliza rolled her eyes.

"Must I tell you everything now? Well, I am going to the loo. Then, I shall be playing a round of wizard's chess with Remus. You are happy to join if you like, but I am not fond of walking past the dementors at the school gate!" Eliza said loudly.

"Just making sure the next time we find you it won't be dead," Severus hinted. "He is very capable of murder and attempted murder, if you don't remember."

It felt as though he knew. But how could he? Had he seen the scene of the crime or did he know how to phrase things in such a way that he could get what he wanted?

She kept her silence during wizard chess, only speaking when she wanted to move a piece. Remus raised his eyes at her silence, though he continued to speak about his week regardless. Eliza let out grunts and affirmed words every once in a while, just so that she could act as though she had been listening.

It nagged at her.

He was still the secret keeper.

How could it be Peter?

He'd gone to look after Peter, but why? He never saw Peter as an equal, not the same way as Remus and James.

Could you even be an animagus for that long without losing your mind?

"Eliza," Remus said in a chiding down.

"Hhm?"

"You just said oh cool to me swimming down to the bottom of the Black Lake and finding Atlantis."

"Caught red handed," Eliza grimaced and called checkmate. "I still win though."

"You do," Remus took out his wand and repaired the pieces on the board. "But I would like to know, what's on your mind?"

She took a sip of her pumpkin juice in deep though. What was on her mind really?

"Did you think that Sirius loved me?" she asked. Remus stared at her. There was nothing Eliza elaborated on.

"It's as plain as that," she cleared her throat. "I… I never asked him. Or he never told me, at least. It as more me than him. You'd think I would know more after risking everything for him. But after everything… did I even know him?"

"Eliza," Remus exasperated. "Where does this come from?"

Because maybe if I knew more, I would have known.

Those words did not befall her lips.

"When I was still with Regulus, even in the last hours before he casted me out so that he could at least try to escape, he told me everything," Eliza picked up the queen chess piece. "I didn't… love him, romantically. And I didn't agree with him much. But I at least felt like I was respected, somehow. I mean, he looked away from my friendship with Lily."

"Didn't he think that Lily was like your pet and she was your My Fair Lady project?"

"Oh please. My Fair Lady would never cross Regulus' lips even in his final hours. He hated that movie," Eliza cracked up. "But…I'm sorry, it's dumb."

"It's not," Remus nodded. "There are things I wished I knew too –"

"LUPIN!"

Severus voice roared. The fireplace had lit itself ablaze and sent a green tinge through the room. Remus apologised and disappeared through the fire, leaving Eliza alone.

She sighed and buried her face in her hands.

Perhaps, it was time to listen to the selkie and go to the forest. Sirius had seem harmless when she saw him. It would be fine, wouldn't it?

But wouldn't it also make her an accomplice in the court of law? If people saw her around him, giving her background, she would be persecuted too.

Severus would very much like that, she muttered.

She walked back to her room and closed her eyes. She only woke up when she heard Remus banging his door.

"Remus?" Eliza peeked out into his room. He stood alone, holding a piece of parchment in his hand.

A piece of parchment that she had come to know as the marauder's map.

"What is that doing here?" she walked up to Remus hesitantly. He was clutching it in his hand like it was a life line.

"I… Harry got it. I don't know how, but I just scolded him for potentially sneaking out of the castle – blimey, do you think he has James' cloak?" Remus rubbed his forehead. "All of this work to keep him safe and he just –"

"He's James' son," Eliza reminded him.

"That's not an excuse," he whispered under his breath. "But there is something else."

"What is it?"

Remus looked her dead in the eye.

"He said he saw him. On the map."

"Sirius?"

"No," Remus nearly growled. "Pettigrew. He said he saw Pettigrew on the map."